She comes like fullest moon on happy night
by NefariaBlack
Summary: He was warm enough in his robes, yet he could not help but shiver when the wondrous creature emerged from the sea. AU with Selkie!Hermione. Non-graphic smut


**She comes like fullest moon on happy night**

Draco sat on the rocks, gazing. The night sky was lit by countless stars and the sea by their reflection. He sat there hoping, wishing upon every star that she would come, breathing in rhythm to the sea lazily crashing in spilling waves.

There was no moon upon him, only starlight and the candle he had brought. Charmed to survive the gale that sometimes rose, washing over the land, clinging to the cliffs and to the walls of his family's seat. His hand toyed with the flame, his mind lost to memories of her and of her fascination with fire. His eyes drifted up to the stars, wishing again, and he let his heart soar high above him. She haunted his thoughts, made him wish to do grand and wonderful things in her name, and yet he could not. For all his wealth, Draco Malfoy could do absolutely nothing, for this was wrong.

He was wrong. Sitting at this beach hoping for her, wanting her, was wrong. Cheating on sweet but sickly Astoria was wrong. Having a relationship with a magical beast was wrong, but gods be damned, he could not be wrong when she felt so right.

His attention was captured by a fleeting jolt of light across the sky, painting a stroke of pale blue both across it and the sea. He had sat here many nights, always hoping. Perhaps tonight he'd get his wish. His hand left the warm aura of the flame to caress the book he had brought, for she had a love for books as well, and he'd do anything to keep her a little longer.

He wasn't quite sure about how long it had been, but the night was starting to creep up on him, making his body numb, bit by bit. His robes were heavy, though, and he would endure the cold if it meant catching a glimpse of her.

She wouldn't always come ashore, no. Sometimes, she would swim in the bay, teasing him in her cruel ways, just out of reach. And that only made her ventures onto dry land all the more precious.

oOo

He was warm enough in his robes, yet he could not help but shiver when the wondrous creature emerged from the sea. Naked under the starlight, holding her coat in one hand and a small pouch in the other. She would always shed her skin before she stepped out of the water, walking up brazenly to him. Shamelessly indulging in the sight of his undoing with her every step.

Draco marvelled in the stunning being walking up to him, some forgotten sea deity being born from the waves, skin as white as the foam that clung to her, silver here and there, where the light caught her scales. He rose and walked towards her, measuring his steps. He never ran, not after that first time, when he'd had to seize her skin to make her stay.

They walked towards each other, unafraid and wanting, both too proud to simply run. Draco was made to stop, well before he reached half-way down the beach, by a solemnly raised hand that looked perfectly human, though silvery and a different kind of soft. She always walked further; it was her trust.

"Hermione," he whispered when she was close enough that he could see her hair drip onto her body, and the drops there shine, reaching out with hungry hands, empty hands that only she could fill. Her name still foreign on his tongue, otherworldly even, but so she was.

He dove into her warm brown eyes, the same colour of the muddy path he had to walk home once she left. He let his hands drift up to her wavy hair, weighed down and softened by the water. Hair he knew would dry bushy and wild, curling in places. He coiled a wave round his finger, and she coiled her fingers round his wrist, bringing his hand to the place above her heart, while she placed her own hand above his. Their language was mostly a silent one, for her voice was raspy above water, and he never had enough words. Then, she removed his hand from her chest, and from that exquisite groove between her small breasts that he so loved, to place her skin on it.

Selkies will stay as long as you keep their skins. If allowed their coats back, they'll run into the water, unless they choose to stay. This, too, was her trust. She trusted him with her skin every time she came ashore, trusting she could have it back.

He took it, bringing it up to his mouth and nose, inhaling the salty scent of her. She offered him the small pouch. He took it, looping its cord around his palm, before taking her hand, and turning around to walk back to his gifts.

oOo

Draco was carefully arranging her delicate skin into a grove on the rocks, relishing on the feel of it. Not quite fur, not quite scales, wholly magnificent. He watched out of the corner of his eye while his elusive creature flipped through book pages by candlelight, utterly lost to the world around her, her fingers busy following the words he had taught her. He took the time to remove his clothes and turn his robe into a blanket, which he laid at her feet. The promise of warmth retrieved her mind, and she quickly moved to sit on it, close to him, as he opened the small pouch.

She smiled at his smile as he retrieved half a dozen large shrimps. She'd always bring him seafood, and it was always better than the one to be found in the market, no matter how expensive, no matter how fresh. They would always have it raw, for she liked it best, and he could never have enough of her.

Hermione deftly peeled the skin off a shrimp, carefully ridding it of the bitter black string, and fed it to him. He took a bite, and she took another, and then they took each other's lips, slowly taking one another, moving to the crashing of the waves.

Draco took in the sight of her, splayed and writhing beneath him, her miniscule silver scales that felt as soft as fur beneath his hands accentuating her movements. From her lips escaped a heady song that silenced the sea in his ears, and he was completely lost to her siren call.

oOo

They came to the feel and scent of one another, tangled as the seaweed that washed up on the sand. Draco hated every clock in the world, and the feeling that the contraptions would move faster whenever they were together.

Hermione dared move, and he clung tightly to her, humming into her locks.

"I'm not moving for anything less than the end of the world."

"I'm hungry," she said, her husky voice driving a shiver through him.

Draco summoned the remaining shrimps out of the pouch, and smiled as he heard her glee as they landed on his chest. They ate them greedily, unashamed of the sucking and clicking noises they made. Then, his wondrous secret teased him until he agreed to summon the book and the candle closer, and he basked in the feeling of her as she read, until he could no longer tolerate her closeness without having her again.

This time, she rode him, bold and demanding, marking his neck and shoulders with her sharp little teeth and her dark little pointy nails. Rolling like the waves above him, Hermione had an earthier song from him. He wrapped himself around her when it was over, and the blanket around the two of them. They were not tangled like seaweed, he was a trap around her, trying to keep her longer, silently pleading for her to stay.

oOo

When the sky became pinkish at the horizon, Hermione kissed his warm chest with her cold lips.

"I'm not moving for anything less than the end of the world," he said, though they both knew it for a lie.

It wasn't the end of the world, merely the end of the night, but she trusted him, and so he moved. He got up and walked to the rocks, retrieving her silver spotted skin.

She took it with both hands, pressing it to his chest and herself to it, kissing him as she went. Then, she turned and walked back to the waves, disappearing inch by inch, kissed by the foam.

Hermione looked back as the water enveloped her chest, her hair already floating about her, and smiled as Draco pulled his robe tight around his neck, burrowing his nose in it. He, at least, would get to keep her smell.

* * *

_Author's Note: Credit where it's due: the title of this little fic is a verse from Arabian Nights. Please don't leave without a few words._

_Prompts and Challenges:_

_Astronomy: Objects of Interest Extra Credit Task #5 - Comets: Write about something fleeting._

_366 Prompts Challenge 354 Wondrous_

_Insane Prompt List 93 Object Book_

_January Writing Club Assorted Appreciation 25 Shooting Stars Alt - Write about someone seeing a shooting star in the sky; Trope of the Month 26 Plot Point: Hoping someone stops in for a visit; The Fabulous World of Comics 7 (Plot point) cheating on a spouse/significant other; Book Club 3 Dorian Havilliard — (quote) "She haunted his thoughts, made him wish to do grand and wonderful things in her name.", (word) wealth, (character) Draco Malfoy, (genre) romance; Lizzy's Loft 5 (food) Shrimp; Film Festival 20 (word) shine_

_Winter Seasonal Challenges Days of the Year February 29th - Leap Year: Write about something that doesn't happen very often; Winter Challenge 9 (word) Shiver; Colours 6 Silver; Birthstones 3 Aquamarine: (dialogue) "I'm not moving for anything less than the end of the world."; Water Element 4 (word) Drip; Slytherin Challenge 33 Draco Malfoy; Star Chart Winter Solstice: Write about the feel of the day going by faster as a person spends time with a loved one; Religious Holidays/Events February 2nd - Candlemas (Christian): Object: Candle; History of Winter 14 Write about someone seeking warmth_

_WC – 1459 words_


End file.
